Drill pipe handling apparatus



My 26, 1970 H. J. WOOLSLAYER ET AL 3,513,996

DRILL PIPE HANDLING APPARATUS Filed July 31, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 W... m, 36 25 27 H INVENTORS. muse J. wmnvse CECIL JEN/(INS BY ERW/N 4. 0440 5544 A TTORA/EKS H. J. WOOLSLAYER ET AL 3,513,996

DRILL PIPE HANDLING APPARATUS May 26, 1970 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 31, 1968 INVENTORS.

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DRILL PIPE HANDLING APPARATUS Filed July 31, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 44 46 25 f f b 29 INCREME/VT INVENTO 48 HOME? J. 100451.495 4/ W CECIL JEN/(INS y ERW/N A. CAMPBELL mwwwam ATTORMEKS.

United States Patent 3,513,996 DRILL PIPE HANDLING APPARATUS Homer J. Woolslayer, Cecil Jenkins, and Erwin A. Campbell, Tulsa, Okla., assignors to Lee C. Moore, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed July 31, 1968, Ser. No. 749,037

' Int. Cl. E21b 19/00 US. Cl. 214-2.5 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Inclined downwardly and outwardly from an elevated support beside a rotary table is a chute provided with a longitudinal guide channel therein for receiving the lower end of a drill pipe suspended above it and then guiding the pipe as it is lowered. The lower end of the chute can be moved outwardly and back and the entire chute can be moved laterally, whereby the lower ends of drill pipes can be set in predetermined positions below an elevated pipe rack.

In the racking of stands of drill pipe in an oil well derrick or beside an oil well drilling mast, it is the usual practice to first swing the lower end of a drill pipe from the rotary table over to the pipe setback area of the drilling floor or platform. conventionally, this swinging is done manually, but the effort required is so great that mechanical aides would be desirable, though few are in use. After the lower end of the pipe has been seated on the setback, the upper end is disconnected from the elevator suspended from the traveling block and swung into the pipe rack about the setback.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide apparatus for handling pipe as it is being racked at an oil well, which requires a minimum of manual effort, which is simple in construction and operation, which correctly positions each pipe on the setback, and which can be used with a setback at ground level.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a side view of an oil well derrick, partly broken away for clarity;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the substructure, with the drawworks added;

FIG. 3 is a further enlarged fragmentary vertical section through the substructure;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of the substructure;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary vertical section of a detail;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view of the pipe rack; and

FIGS. 7 to 9 are diagrammatic views of the chuteswinging apparatus.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, an oil well derrick 1 is shown mounted on a tall substructure 2 that is provided centrally with beams 3 which support the usual rotary table 4. The derrick could just as well be a mast hinged to the substructure so that it can be swung down to the ground in a well known manner. The top of the substructure around the table is covered with a floor 5, except at one location that will be described presently. The usual traveling block 6 is suspended from the crown block 7 by lines 8 connected with drawworks 9 (FIG. 2) on the substructure. In coming out of the hole, the upper end of the drill string is gripped by the usual elevator 11 supported by the traveling block, and then the block is raised to pull one or more drill pipes 12 up through the rotary table. A stand of three pipes is shown in the drawings. The lower end of the stand is disconnected from the pipe immediately below it, which is supported by the usual slips 13, and then the freed drill pipe stand is moved laterally to the setback. The usual pipe rack 14 is mount- 'ice ed in the derrick above the setback for holding the upper ends of the stands of drill pipe that stand on the setback.

Contrary to the usual practice, the floor of substructure 2 below the pipe rack does not serve as the pipe setback, but is provided with a large rectangular opening 16 directly over a setback substantially at ground level. The setback is formed from a rigid mat 17 of suitable material resting on the ground. Drill pipes standing on this mat will extend up through floor opening 16 to the pipe rack. This invention is concerned with transferring the lower ends of drill pipe from the rotary table to the setback and back again.

Accordingly, an elevated support, preferably in the form of a horizontal box beam 20, as best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, is supported by the substructure adjacent the side of floor opening 16 nearest the rotary table. This would be the inner side of that opening. The beam generally will be a short distance below the floor level. Between this beam and the outer side of the floor opening there is the upper end portion of a chute 21 that is inclined downwardly and outwardly from the beam to a point close to the top of the underlying setback mat 17. This chute, which is inside the substructure, can be formed in various ways, but preferably from a pair of laterally spaced channels 22 facing away from each other and sup porting between them a metal trough 23 that is V-shape in cross section and just wide enough to receive the lower end of a drill pipe. This trough forms a guide channel for the pipe as it is lowered in the floor opening.

The upper end of the chute is connected with box beam 20 in such a manner that the lower end of the chute can be moved outwardly and back and the entire chute can be moved laterally; that is, lengthwise of the beam. Preferably, the connection of the chute to the beam includes a sleeve 25 slidably mounted on the beam, and a pair of laterally spaced vertical plates 26 surrounding the sleeve and welded thereto. The upper part of the chute straddles the forwardly projecting portions of these plates and is pivotally suspended from them by a transverse pivot pin 27. With this construction, the lower end of the chute can be swung forward or outward toward the adjacent side of the substructure and back to the inner side of the setback mat.

This swinging of the chute can be accomplished in different ways, a preferred way being by means of a fluid pressure jack formed from an inclined operating cylinder 28 and a piston 29. The upper end of the cylinder can be connected to the downwardly projecting portions of sleeve plates 26 by a transverse pivot pin 31, while the lower end of the piston rod 32 is pivoted to the chute by a pin 33. It will be seen that when fluid under pressure is delivered to the upper end of the cyliner, the piston will be pushed downwardly and that will cause the piston rod to swing the lower end of the chute outwardly toward the adjacent side of the substructure. Also, when sleeve 25 is moved lengthwise of its supporting beam, the entire chute will be moved laterally in the substructure.

In using the chute to aid in racking drill pipe, the lower end of a stand of drill pipe, disconnected from the string of pipe that is supported in the well from the rotary table, is swung laterally the short distance between the center of the rotary table and the upper end of the chute. Simultaneously, the traveling block lowers the pipe a short distance so that its lower end can be inserted in the chute as shown in FIG. 1. At the beginning of racking the pipe, the chute will be at one end of its supporting beam and the lower end of the chute will be held by the fluid pressure jack near an outer corner of the setback. The stand of drill pipe is lowered by the traveling block through floor opening 16, and the chute therefore guides the lower end of the pipe down to the mat, on which the pipe comes to rest as shown in FIG. 3. The upper end of the pipe then is disconnected from the elevator and swung out into the corresponding corner of the pipe rack, in the slot between two of the fingers of the rack as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6. Then, as shown in FIG. 1, the lower end of the chute is swung inwardly or backwardly only far enough to permit the next stand of pipe to be guided down to the mat behind the preceding stand. Then the lower end of the chute is retracted a short distance again and the third stand of pipe is guided by the chute to the mat. This operation is repeated until the upper ends of a full row of pipes have been placed in the slots in one side of the pipe rack.

The next step is to move the chute laterally only far enough to permit another row of pipe to be set on the mat beside the first row. At substantially the same time the lower end of the chute is swung out to its outermost position again. The same procedure is then followed as previously described in guiding drill pipe down to the setback and positioning them one behind another to form a second row beside the first row. This swinging of the chute and moving it by steps along the supporting beam are repeated until all of the pipe has been racked. To run the pipe back into the well, the procedure just described is reversed and the lower ends of the drill pipe are pulled up the inclined chute and allowed to swing from its upper end inwardly into position above the rotary table.

A simple way of moving sleeve along box beam 20 is to provide the top of the beam with a row 'of equally spaced holes 35, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and to weld a small horizontal plate 36 to the tops of vertical plates 26 above a cut-out portion of the top of the sleeve. The top plate 36 is provided with an opening 37 over the row of holes in the beam. A 'acking bar 38 is inserted in that opening at an angle, wlth its lower end projecting into one of the underlying beam holes 35. Then, with the beam acting as a fulcrum, the bar is swung lengthwise of the beam to force the sleeve to slide along the beam. This will move the sleeve one increment, which can be the distance required for setting two adjoining rows of drill pipe beside each other on the setback. In order to prepare the sleeve for the next increment of movement, bar 38 is raised far enough to remove its lower end from the beam and then the upper end of the bar is swung in the opposite direction so that the bar can be lowered into the next beam hole.

Fluid pressure can be delivered to the cylinder of the chute jack in various ways, but it is preferred to do it in a manner that will deliver a series of small volumes of hydraulic fluid to the lower end of the cylinder so that the lower end of the chute will be moved inwardly by predetermined increments, but also in a manner that will deliver fluid to the upper end of the cylinder in sufficient volume to move the piston downwardly its full stroke at one time to swing the lower end of the chute all of the way out at one time. This can be accomplished, as shown in FIG. 7, by means of a pump 40 and a small metering cylinder 41 and floating piston 42 that force fluid into operating cylinder 28. The pump is selectively connected with the upper end of the operating cylinder and the metering cylinder, and the metering cylinder is selectively connected with the pump and the lower end of the operating cylinder. The metering cylinder has a much smaller capacity than the operating cylinder, so that for each full stroke of the metering piston the operating piston 29 is moved a relatively short distance. The pump draws liquid from a reservoir 43 and pumps it through a pipe 44 to a valve 45 that is connected by a pair of pipes 46 and 47 with the opposite ends of the operating cylinder, and by another pair of pipes 48 and 49 with the metering cylinder. The valve also has an outlet connected by a pipe 50 with the reservoir.

In order to move the operating piston 29 its full stroke downwardly to swing the lower end of the chute its full distance outwardly, the valve is operated as shown in FIG. 9 to connect the lower end of the operating cylinder with the reservoir and to connect the pump with the upper end of that cylinder. At this time the metering piston, which has been moved to the right-hand end of the metering cylinder, is inactive. Before the operating piston can be reversed and driven upwardly step by step in order to swing the lower end of the chute inwardly by increments, the valve is shifted as shown in FIG. 7 to connect the pump with pipe 49 and to connect pipe 48 'with the reservoir. This forces the metering piston to the left and fills the righthand portion of the metering cylinder with a charge of hydraulic fluid. Then the valve is shifted to its third position, shown in FIG. 8, in which it connects pipe 49 with pipe 47 leading to the lower end of the operating cylinder, connects pipe 46 from the upper end of the operating cylinder with the reservoir, and connects the pump with the left-hand end of the metering cylinder. This last connection allows hydraulic pressure to move the metering piston to the right and force the charge of fluid in front of it into the lower end of the operating cylinder, whereby the piston therein is moved upwardly one step as shown. To move the operating piston up through the operating cylinder step-by step to its upper end, the valve is shifted back and forthbetween the two positions illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8. Then it is moved into the FIG. 9 position to cause the operating piston to be moved back down to the lower end of its cylinder in order to permit the cycle to be repeated for the next row of drill pipe.

It will be seen that with this invention both the derrick and the substructure floor are relieved of the very considerable weight of the numerous stands of pipe on the setback, because the setback can rest on the ground beneath the substructure. Also, manual effort in racking the pipes is reduced materially, for the chute guides the lower ends of the pipes from points near the rotary table to their proper positions at remote points on the setback.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, we have explained the principle of our invention and have illustrated and described what we now consider to represent its best embodiment.

We claim:

1. Pipe handling apparatus used in racking oil well drill pipe beside a rotary table, comprising a horizontal elongated support having inner and outer sides and adapted to be mounted in an elevated position with its inner side adjacent a rotary table, a chute at the outer side of said support inclined downwardly and outwardly therefrom, the outer side of the chute being provided with a longitudinal guide channel therein for receiving the lower end of a drill pipe suspended above it and then guiding the pipe as it is lowered, means connecting the chute with said support, operating means for moving the lower end of the chute outwardly and back, and means for moving the entire chute laterally along the support, said connecting means including means surrounding said support and means pivotally suspending the chute on a transverse axis from said surrounding means, said laterally movable means being connected to said surrounding means for adjusting the latter along said support parallel to said axis.

2. Pipe handling apparatus used in racking oil well drill pipe beside a rotary table, comprising a stationary horizontal beam having inner and outer sides and adapted to be mounteed in an elevated position with its inner side and adjacent a rotary table, the beam being provided with a row of longitudinally spaced holes, a chute at the outer side of said beam inclined downwardly therefrom, the outer side of the chute being provided with a longitudinal guide channel therein for receiving the lower end of a drill pipe suspended above it and then guiding the pipe as it is lowered, means connecting the chute with said beam, operating means for moving the lower end of the chute outwardly and back, and means for moving the entire chute laterally along the beam, said connecting means including a member slidably mounted on the beam and provided with an opening opposite said row of holes, and said laterally movable means being a longitudinally and laterally movable bar extending through said opening for insertion in successive holes in said row,

the upper end of the .bar being adapted to be swung lengthwise of the beam to slide said slidable member along the beam.

3. Pipe handling apparatus used in racking oil well drill pipe beside a rotary table, comprising a horizontal elongated support having inner and outer sides and adapted to be mounted in an elevated position with its inner side adjacent a rotary table, a chute at the outer side of said support inclined downwardly and outwardly therefrom, the outer side of the chute being provided with a longitudinal guide channel therein for receiving the lower end of a drill pipe suspended above it and then guiding the pipe as it is lowered, means connecting the chute with said support, operating means for moving the lower end of the chute outwardly and back, and means for moving the entire chute laterally along the support, said connecting means pivotally suspending the chute on a transverse axis, and said operating means including a fluid pressure operating cylinder and piston connecting said connecting means and chute, a fluid pressure metering cylinder and piston, fluid pressure means for reciprocating the metering piston and for moving the operating piston its full stroke in one direction, and conduit means connecting the two cylinders for reversing the movement of said operating piston when the metering piston is moved in a predetermined direction, the capacity of the metering cylinder being a small fraction of the capacity of the operating cylinder.

4. Pipe handling apparatus used in racking oil well drill pipe beside a rotary table, comprising a horizontal elongated, support having inner and outer sides and adapted to be mounted in an elevated position with its inner side adjacent a rotary table, a chute at the outer side of said support inclined downwardly and outwardly therefrom, the outer side of the chute being provided with a longitudinal guide channel therein for receiving the lower end of a drill pipe suspended above it and then guiding the pipe as it is lowered, means connecting the chute with said support, operating means for moving the lower end of the chute outwardly and back, and means for moving the entire chute laterally along the support, said connecting means pivotally suspending the chute on a transverse axis, and said operating means including a fluid pressure operating cylinder and piston connecting said connecting means and chute, a fluid pressure metering cylinder and piston, the capacity of the metering cylinder being a small fraction of the capacity of the operating cylinder, a source of fluid pressure, valve means for connecting said source with one end of the operating cylinder to move the operating piston its full stroke on one direction, means for thereafter connecting said source with one end of the metering cylinder to charge it with pressure fluid, and means for then connecting said source with the opposite end of the metering cylinder and simultaneously connecting said one end of that cylinder with the opposite end of the operating cylinder to discharge said charge of fluid into the operating cylinder and thereby move the operating piston a fraction of the full stroke, whereby by repeating said charging and discharging of the metering cylinder a number of times the operating piston can be moved along its cylinder by increments.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,674,379 4/1954. Gregory 214-2.5 2,690,846 10/1954 Putnam 214 2.s 2,919,042 12/1959 Kierultf 214 15 ROBERT G. SHERIDAN, Primary Examiner F. E. WERNER,-Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 214-l 

